High School Upcoming events (Please click):
https://inside.isb.ac.th/parentportal/?p=25965
Hand, Foot and Mouth Disease
Andy Vaughan
andyv@isb.ac.th
Dear High School Parents,
As many of you will know, we have an outbreak of Hand, Foot and Mouth Disease in our school community. At the moment we are managing to contain the outbreak and have been screening over 100 students a day at the Health Clinic in the past few days. To date, we have now had 3 confirmed cases in the High School.
Due to the nature of our HS schedule and the many interactions that our HS students have within a day, we are requesting your help. If possible, please take your children’s temperature and look in their mouths and on their hands and feet for blisters each morning. If your child has any fever, or blisters/ulcers in their mouth or on their hands or feet please, do not send them to school and take them to the doctor for review. If a case is confirmed, please notify ISB’s Health Clinic.
In the Health Clinic we will continue to screen students who we know may have been exposed to the virus.
Please find at this link the information sheet regarding Hand, Foot and Mouth Disease.
We greatly appreciate your assistance in helping control this over the coming week.
Many thanks,
Andy Vaughan
FCD and Substance Abuse at ISB
Andy Vaughan
andyv@isb.ac.th
Recently we hosted Stephanie Kootsikas from Freedom from Chemical Dependency Prevention Works (FCD) to work with all our HS students on Drug Education and Prevention. Stephanie gave presentations to our grade 10-12 students and ran sessions with all our Freshman along with running sessions with parents and counsellors, health teachers and administration.
We have now received some follow up information from FCD for parents as was requested in the parent meeting. The presentation that was shown in to parents in our parent session can be found at this link. As a follow up FCD also compared our survey results with other International Schools worldwide and some other International Schools in SE Asia the results to this comparison can be found here.
FCD have also provided a few more resources as requested by parents these are linked below:
- Ideas for parenting for prevention can be found here.
- Technology Addiction Information
- Teen Technology Addiction Fact Sheet
- Information for parents on how to help with transitions to College can be found at this link.
Recently we have also become aware of a trend that is happening in Bangkok within some International School Students, where students are taking a drug called DXM. Some students have been reported to be taking as much as 50 Tablets at once. At that dose, DXM is more than just a stimulant and begins to have hallucinogenic and dissociative properties similar to PCP or Ketamine. This information is very concerning to us and we feel it is important to share this with parents due to the concern of an overdose. In most western countries access to this drug is now limited, but in Thailand it is an over the counter drug available at a pharmacy and is part of many brands of cough medicine. We will be contacting local pharmacies to ensure they are not selling medicine to students containing DXM in any large dose. A link to more information on this drug is found here
Please feel free to contact Andy Vaughan (andyv@isb.ac.th) with any questions regarding either FCD or DXM.
Report Cards – Powerschool locked
Phil Rogers
philr@isb.ac.th
As teachers complete their recording and reporting over the next week, Powerschool will be locked to show grades and comments up to next Monday. It is envisaged that Powerschool will be updated on late on Friday 18th December and will include the full report card for the semester as a PDF.
Report Card Holds
Andy Vaughan & Phil Rogers
andyv@isb.ac.th, philr@isb.ac.th
Please note that parents will be unable to access report cards through Powerschool if a report card hold has been placed on a student account. Report card holds occur if books are outstanding at the Library, fees are overdue or textbooks not returned. If a report card hold has occurs in the next two weeks parents will be notified via an automated email from Powerschool.
To avoid report card holds please encourage your child(ren) to return all library books, and any textbooks used solely in semester 1.
To remove a report after semester finishes you will need to visit the HS Office from 21-24 December with the outstanding item.
December Examinations (Grade 9 & 10 ONLY)
Phil Rogers
philr@isb.ac.th
All students Grade 9 & 10 students will have two days of exams covering English, Mathematics & Science. Their individual schedules are already up on their Powerschool account. Grade 11 & 12 students will be in NORMAL classes.
- exams run on Monday 14th December & Tuesday 15th December.
- There are 2 exam sessions each day starting at 8am and 11:30am Students should arrive at their exam venues 15 minutes early. Students will not be permitted to leave an exam early.
. - Student are expected to bring pens, pencils, rulers, erasers, ISB ID card, calculator (if required) and a clear water bottle to each exam.
- Students who do not have an exam at a particular time they may return home early to study or use our Library for private study.
- Students can leave school early (before 2:05pm) after an exam by completing an exam early departure form. This form will be posted on the Parent and Student Portals or hard copies can be obtained from the HS Office. Students will need to have a parent-signed, completed form for each instance they wish to leave campus.
- Students are expected to take each exam as scheduled. Students who are sick for an exam must contact the HS office immediately. Medical certificates MUST be provided.
- Thursday 78th December and Friday 18th December are exam feedback days where normal attendance is expected. Teachers will look at group and individual feedback, review markschemes and success criteria, look at exemplary answers and develop future goals. School will still finish at 11:30am on the Friday following the HS end of year assembly.
PowerSchool will be closed to student and parent access from 7am on Monday 14th December December until after the exam period.
H.S. Counseling News
Andrew Weiser
andreww@isb.ac.th
All
Alumni Fair – On January 14, ISB Counselors will host an Alumni Fair in room 203 at 10:20. Come talk to former ISB students who are now at university. You can learn more about their specific university, their transition, experience, advice, etc. All high school students and parents are invited. Tentatively, ISB alumni in attendance represent universities in Belgium, Scotland, Switzerland, and the US. More details to follow upon return from the break in January.
Grade 9
This week our freshmen had their final freshman seminar. With the exams just around the corner we decided to have some additional focus on unhealthy stress and anxiety reduction. This included focused breathing techniques, mindful walking, plus the sharing of additional tools to get the mind and body in a good place. Over the break we would like our freshmen to take a well deserved rest, keep healthy, and maybe pick up a book of interest to read at leisure.
Grade 10
All the semester’s work is almost complete and fortunately there are fewer semester exams this year for 10th graders. Two things are necessary for success. First, it is imperative to get proper sleep in the days leading up to exams. Whenever a person needs to perform at peak capacity (in sports, acting, music, or other performances), their bodies must be properly rested. The same goes for intellectual activities. The brain needs rest too, and no one performs optimally on a reduced sleep schedule. Secondly, before students get anxious about final tests and their consequences, they would do well to understand that an assessment worth 20% of the grade (maximum allowed on semester exams) generally has very little influence on the grade. For example, do the math on this one: If a student goes into the final with an A- and 92% in the class, and they get an 84 on their final, what will their semester grade be? Need any help on this? Ask your son or daughter to assist you! Best of luck to students in their last week of the semester!
Grade 11
On Wednesday, Dec. 10, grade 11 students met with their counselors to learn about ISB’s Student Safeguarding Policy. Counselors went through the policy with the students, highlighting different areas and explaining the reasons behind why ISB has strengthened its policy. At the conclusion of the presentation, students were given two scenarios in which they had to decide what would be the best course of action during a potential safeguarding issue. The scenarios were a catalyst for good discussions among the students.
Grade 12
It’s hard to believe that Seniors have only one semester left of high school. How are you feeling about this big life event for both you and your student? We hope that as the 3 week holiday approaches, you are able to spend quality time together connecting, relaxing, and reflecting. It’s been a stressful, exciting, and busy last few months and it’s important to have some downtime and recover.
There is one week left for Seniors with application deadlines now through January to submit their application (US, Canada, HK, UK). After a Senior has submitted the application, required documents (transcripts, recommendations) will be sent to the university. Please keep in mind that university offices are very busy places managing thousands of applications and application documents. In this high tech world, receiving materials is still not instant. It can take 4-6 weeks for a university to recognize and acknowledge that all application materials have arrived. Please assume best intent on the part of the ISB counseling office that all materials have been sent correctly.
If a university requires SAT, ACT, TOEFL, IELTS, etc., it is the student’s responsibility to send these materials directly from the testing agency BEFORE the application deadline.
Upcoming University Visits
Pima Community College December 14, 2015 10:20 AM
The ULTIMATE Job and Maria Charity Fun Run – Jan. 15
Caryn Macky
carynm@isb.ac.th
The ULTIMATE Job and Maria Charity Fun Run will be on Friday, January 15 at 4:30 p.m. on the track. (That is the first Friday back to school after the holiday.)
Job and Maria’s classmates will be graduating from ISB this year, so this will be our last opportunity to race in their memory. (Job and Maria were ISB 1st grade students when the 2004 tsunami hit.) We will run to raise money for scholarships for Thai students. Read a recent letter below from one of our sponsored children.
Parents, children of all ages, and sports teams are welcome to enjoy friendly competition. There will be races for all ages, from the 200 meter Hand-In-Hand race for anyone wanting to race together, to the 1 mile race for Middle and High School Students, and adults. Subway and Twist will be selling, and there will be treats for every participant. Contact Caryn Macky if you would like to help at the event.
Caryn Macky carynm@isb.ac.th
Dear Benefactors,
My name is Banharn, a first year student at Public Health Sirinthorn College, Ubon Ratchatani province, programme public health – dental.
The education grant you have kindly given me is like a lit candle, with its light guiding an upcountry boy like me, letting me see the path of my learning opportunity. No matter how hard one studies, without the opportunity, it would be like a car with no petrol, never reaching the destination. Some people have to give up their education, and little by little, images of their desired destinations just fade away.
I have to consider myself very lucky indeed that you have kindly given me this opportunity. Not many people have it. The education grant is also a reminder to study hard for my own future and my family. To younger children, I will be a good example of the country’s young generation.
I am most grateful for your kindness in giving me the education grant. I promise I will pay attention to class, and use the grant money wisely for educational purposes.
Yours faithfully,
Barhnarn
Sports News
Derrick Quinet
derrickq@isb.ac.th
Check out the new ISB website! The links to the team pages are much easier to find, the site looks great, and we invite you to explore. The athletics calendar shows dates and upcoming games, and it’s quick to find links to all the relevant information. Start here, and check it out: https://www.isb.ac.th/student-life/athletics/about
ISB wrapped up 2015 in style, with a resounding afternoon of matches versus Shrewsbury last Wednesday. The varsity and JV rugby teams demonstrated their team and individual improvements, flashing solid passing, great runs, and proficient tackling en route to 20-5, and 20-0 victories. The boys tennis and basketball teams earned tight victories over the Storm, while the girls varsity and JV touch teams also ran past Shrewsbury on the road.
Don’t miss the ISB teams in action after the holiday, as the Panthers set their sights on the IASAS and BISAC championships!
eNewsletter Guidelines
Tony Arnold
anthonya@isb.ac.th
ISB eNewsletters provide a valuable avenue for communication within the ISB parent community. Please see our eNewsletter guidelines below.
Submitting an announcement for publication
ISB accepts announcements from ISB families and ISB staff for potential publication in our eNewsletters. The announcements are generally intended to highlight events that occur at ISB and/or highlight information about ISB.
What to include in the announcement
• A title for your announcement
• An email contact for further information
• An image or photo (optional)
Where to submit your announcement
4publish@isb.ac.th is for announcements of interest to the entire ISB community.
tinaratr@isb.ac.th is for Elementary School (ES) announcements of interest to ES families.
dennish@isb.ac.th is for Middle School (MS) announcements of interest to MS families.
vijitl@isb.ac.th is for High School (HS) announcements of interest to HS families.
Your announcement will be submitted to the appropriate Principal and/or to our Marketing Director for review. ISB reserves the right to determine which announcements will and will not be published, and to edit announcements that are approved for publication.
Frequency of eNewsletter mailings
The ISB eNewsletter that is for the entire community is sent out on Thursdays. Announcements for potential publication in this newsletter must be received by noon on Thursdays.
The ES, MS, and HS eNewsletters are sent out on Fridays. Announcements for potential publication in these newsletters must be received by noon on Fridays.